That there is nothing out there regarding Ayre mods speaks volumes about the quality of Hansen's designs and overall satisfaction of owners of Ayre equipment. Guess I answered one of my own questions.
Ayre owners and preamp options: seeking advice
I bought a new Ayre VX-5 twenty a while back and have it paired with the Ayre K-5xeMP pre. Was contemplating updating my pre which is currently fed by a phono pre (Ayre) and a DAC, both balanced inputs. Has anyone modded a k-5xemp with a few select parts and improved it? Alternatively, has anyone added a tube pre to their Ayre amp? Which ones mate well? Lastly, upgrading to their new KX-5 twenty would be an obvious choice but I'm not yet ready to make that investment. Thoughts?
- ...
- 18 posts total
This is a followup to an ancient thread, but FWIW, having owned a lot of Ayre gear, including using an Ayre K-3x preamp with first a VX5E and then a VX-5 (over a period of about a decade), I've now had an Aesthetix Janus Signature (linestage/phono stage) fronting my VX-5 for some years now, and I find that the Aesthetix/Ayre combo has been even more satisfying to me. But there are two caveats here - A) the comparison between the K-3x and Janus Signature is not a fully symmetrical one; perhaps the stock Janus would be a better comparison there; and B) the Janus has had issues with tube noise that I've satisfactorily resolved over time with careful tube selection, but it will never be as hassle-free (or have as low a noise floor) as an Ayre preamp. While the Aesthetix gear has a bit less high-end detail in comparison with the Ayre, I find it a bit tonally richer. But the Ayre gear is very fine gear indeed. And Charles Hansen and Jim White, the founder/owner of Aesthetix, did a bit of work together and were friends, and shared similar design philosophies- the gear has mated very well for me, and I see the house sounds falling just modestly on either side of a very neutral line, and of course also be dependent upon the balance of the rest of one's system. One last point- the Aesthetix gear (and certain other tube gear) really goes even farther with good NOS tubes to suit one's personal tastes than when used with stock tubes, though it's not night and day to my ears, and of course it entails potentially substantial additional costs. |
Hi @aubullience , I'm the OP on this thread. Ayre electronics are a great choice because they sound great, are reliable, and backed by a solid company that offers great customer service. I made a few changes to my system since my original post. First, I felt my speakers needed more grunt so I sold the VX-5 twenty and replaced it with a Pass X350.5 amp. I also sold my K-5xeMP preamp and replaced it with the fantastic Ayre K-1xe. It gave me slightly greater extension, improved transparency but most noticeable was a more 3 dimensional image and soundstage. I have enjoyed this preamp immensely for a few years now though it is getting a bit long in the tooth. I still use my Ayre phono pre. I started looking at other preamp options including Pass, Zesto, and Backert to name a few. The problem is I know I can't keep the big Pass amp forever, it is just a beast and I am too old to lift it. So whatever preamp I get needs to be broadly compatible and will likely be end-game for me. I will say that the K-1xe is a fantastic pre and deserving of the praise it received when it first came out. Thanks for reawakening this thread. |
- 18 posts total